[wtp-incubator-dev] Incubator build infrastructure is now ready

[David M Williams <david_williams@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, mostly. 

You can always get to the latest continuous
builds from this URL

http://build.eclipse.org/webtools/committers/
You'll want to book mark that URL

Currently, the Incubator XSL builds
are "hidden" in the Integration builds section ... just look
for the ones with a R0.5 build branch name. 
(I'll improve the page so it has a separate
section, eventually)

You can see the latest one at the following
URL

http://build.eclipse.org/webtools/committers/incubator-R0.5-I/20080111183311/I-I20080111183311-20080111183311/

Note that the pre-reqs are not now linked
as they should be, but I'll fix that soon (and need to for all continuous
builds, not use XSL). 

I'll give a brief explanation of releasing
code to a build, but feel free to ask any questions if more clarification
is needed. 

o  You'll need the releng.incubator
project from the webtools repository in your workspace. It has some map
files, which specify 
which CVS version to use in the build.
(The features define what plugins to include, the maps define which CVS
versions). The 
releng.incubator is in the webtools.maps
directory in CVS, but should be checked out as top level project). 

o  You should also use the releng
tool from the Eclipse platform (it's a separate download, I think near
bottom of their download page). 
It adds a new "Release ...."
action in the Team menu. This tool tags the project in cvs, then updates
the map file with that tag, then commits 
the modified map file to HEAD (the HEAD
of the map files, are always used during a build, and those map files tagged
during a build, so 
we can always "recreate" a
build, so to speak). 

o  When you have code all committed
to HEAD, and ready to release to a build, select the project(s), then choose
the Release action. 
It presents a wizard. First time through,
you'll have to navigate to the your map directory (releng.incubator), Next,
pick the map files you 
want to release to (if they are not
already selected). It is important to make sure the "Release only
changed projects" is checked on. 
There's a couple of wizard pages where
you can "see" the differences you are about to make for the build,
which I highly recommend, 
even for experienced committers, and
especially for those new to this process. 

o The builds should be kicked off automatically
when ever a change to the releng.incubator map files are made. (It checks
once an hour). 
The build itself only takes about 10
minutes, but may take several hours if there is a complete WTP build already
running. 

o You can check on the status of the
builds by going to 
http://build.eclipse.org:7777/dashboard/dashboard?s=1
You'll want to book mark this URL too.


So ... explore around, try some small
changes first, see if it works as you expect. 

And ... be sure to actually test the
zip's produced! Make sure I'm including what's desired. 

I know there's more to discuss and explain
(e.g. how to change pre-reqs) ... but, think I'll pause for now and wait
for your direction. 

BTW, this "build.eclipse.org"
download is only for committers and early testers. 
Whenever there is a declared build,
or milestone, we'll actually upload it to the normal download server, which
is where 
we want the wider community to get it
from (due to bandwidth constraints, etc.). 
We should probably have one "declared
build" before the milestone on the 21st. 
We have them weekly or biweekly in the
rest of WTP. You all in the XSL component can 
establish most any rhythm you'd like
(as long as you have a rhythm, eventually  :) 

Thanks,